I keep trying to take advantage of the beautiful outdoors. How much we miss by sitting inside day after day and staring at computer screens! :) (haha, like I'm doing right now!) Sunday I ate my lunch sitting on the side of the Blue Ridge Parkway, taking in the beginning of fall with the yellows and reds of the colored leaves. Last night I stopped at a nearby field and got out and looked at the stars. How beautiful the night sky is, especially when there is no smog or lights to block the view!
But what kept popping in my mind was this song.
I heard this song for the first time when I lived and worked at BFA in Germany. We sang it in church, and then I loved it so much I ended up buying the CD by Danny Plett.
I tend to play this song when I need to be reminded how big and amazing my God is. Because, truly, I stand in amazement at the beauty surrounding me on earth - trees and stars, etc....but should I not be more amazed of my God? And when I realize how big He is, and how small I am....do I even trust my own words to speak to Him?
How amazing You are in Your beauty.
How awesome Your blinding light.
Do I dare trust my words to praise You?
Do I dare trust my voice to sing?
How amazing You are in Your mercy.
That You still love someone like me.
Do I dare trust my words to praise You?
Do I dare trust my voice to sing?
Holy Father,
Precious Brother,
Gentle Comforter.
Oh, Holy One,
Most Holy One.
How amazing You are in Your healing.
Through my tears I now see Your face.
Do I dare trust my words to praise You?
Do I dare trust my voice to sing?
But isn't it good to know that He is just waiting for us to talk to Him and sing to Him...no matter how feeble our praise or our words...because He loves us that much. Hooray!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
God's Preferred Music
"Musicians love to sound their trumpets where there is the best echo, and God loves to bestow His mercies where there is the best echo of thankfulness." ~ Thomas Watson
Oh, to be truly and utterly thankful. For everything. That is my wish. :)
Oh, to be truly and utterly thankful. For everything. That is my wish. :)
Saturday, September 18, 2010
King Jotham
Isn’t it interesting to read through I & II Kings and I & II Chronicles in the Bible? It is one of the few places where in just a sentence or two, you can see what God thought of someone’s life. We read about those who “did evil in the eyes of the LORD” and those who “did right in the eyes of the LORD”. Sometimes these kings did well for a time, but they did not follow God “wholeheartedly”.
As I was doing my homework for a Bible study I’m involved in, I was directed to the life of Jotham. He is described in II Chronicles 27 and II Kings 15:32-38.
II Kings describes Jotham in this way:
“He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Uzziah had done. The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there…” (II Kings 15:34-35)
II Chronicles speaks of Jotham as well:
“Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem 16 years…He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Uzziah had done, but unlike him he did not enter the temple of the LORD. The people, however, continued their corrupt practices. Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the temple of the LORD and did extensive work on the wall at the hill of Ophel. He built towns in the Judean hills and forts and towers in the wooded areas.” (II Chronicles 27:1-4)
Now, maybe I’m intrigued with Jotham because I’m also 25 years old. Or maybe that’s just one more reason he’s standing out to me right now. At 25 years old, Jotham was given one of the greatest responsibilities in the kingdom of Judah. He was to rule over the people and direct them. Now, obviously, the people ultimately made their own choices, but leaders have such influence. Leaders can both point out the good and do their best to stop the wrong.
So, at first glance, Jotham did a good job! He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just like his dad. But something was missing. He did not remove the high places. Those were places that had been set up to worship other gods. False gods, in fact. And Jotham did not stop his people from worshiping that which was false. He did not stop the wrong.
A little further on in this passage, we find this verse:
II Chronicles 27:6 “Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the LORD his God.”
Jotham was walking steadfastly before the LORD. That’s awesome! God blessed the works of his hands and allowed him to grow powerful.
But know what most sticks out to me? He walked BEFORE the Lord.
We can see from the previous descriptions of his life that Jotham knew the right things to do. He did them. But maybe he didn’t go above and beyond the simple “rules of right living” to get to know the “Ruler of right living”.
What would Jotham’s life have looked life if he had walked WITH the Lord?
Would he have removed the high places and stopped those who were giving glory to someone else?
Before and With are two very different words. Maybe I’m majoring on minors here, but this seems like such an important concept.
If I walk before the Lord, I am doing right things and am, in a sense, performing to please God. He’s watching me. But it’d be hard not to assume that God is like “big brother” in this way.
If I walk with the Lord, I am also striving to do right things. I am also trying to please God. But the purpose would not be to satisfy a “big brother” who is watching me. It would be to please a God who I intimately know.
Galatians 5 speaks of the “fruit of the Spirit” – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness & self-control. A bit later on it says this:
“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25)
God wants us to know Him intimately. He wants us to not just live before Him, but to live our lives WITH Him. And when we are with Him, we know what is on His heart and what things he might desire us to do – like tearing down the high places – besides just keeping His rules.
At the end of my life, I would like to be described with a sentence like King Jotham’s. I would like God to say that I did right in His eyes. I would love to walk steadfastly. But even more than that – I would like Him to say that I walked with Him.
As I was doing my homework for a Bible study I’m involved in, I was directed to the life of Jotham. He is described in II Chronicles 27 and II Kings 15:32-38.
II Kings describes Jotham in this way:
“He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Uzziah had done. The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there…” (II Kings 15:34-35)
II Chronicles speaks of Jotham as well:
“Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem 16 years…He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Uzziah had done, but unlike him he did not enter the temple of the LORD. The people, however, continued their corrupt practices. Jotham rebuilt the Upper Gate of the temple of the LORD and did extensive work on the wall at the hill of Ophel. He built towns in the Judean hills and forts and towers in the wooded areas.” (II Chronicles 27:1-4)
Now, maybe I’m intrigued with Jotham because I’m also 25 years old. Or maybe that’s just one more reason he’s standing out to me right now. At 25 years old, Jotham was given one of the greatest responsibilities in the kingdom of Judah. He was to rule over the people and direct them. Now, obviously, the people ultimately made their own choices, but leaders have such influence. Leaders can both point out the good and do their best to stop the wrong.
So, at first glance, Jotham did a good job! He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just like his dad. But something was missing. He did not remove the high places. Those were places that had been set up to worship other gods. False gods, in fact. And Jotham did not stop his people from worshiping that which was false. He did not stop the wrong.
A little further on in this passage, we find this verse:
II Chronicles 27:6 “Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the LORD his God.”
Jotham was walking steadfastly before the LORD. That’s awesome! God blessed the works of his hands and allowed him to grow powerful.
But know what most sticks out to me? He walked BEFORE the Lord.
We can see from the previous descriptions of his life that Jotham knew the right things to do. He did them. But maybe he didn’t go above and beyond the simple “rules of right living” to get to know the “Ruler of right living”.
What would Jotham’s life have looked life if he had walked WITH the Lord?
Would he have removed the high places and stopped those who were giving glory to someone else?
Before and With are two very different words. Maybe I’m majoring on minors here, but this seems like such an important concept.
If I walk before the Lord, I am doing right things and am, in a sense, performing to please God. He’s watching me. But it’d be hard not to assume that God is like “big brother” in this way.
If I walk with the Lord, I am also striving to do right things. I am also trying to please God. But the purpose would not be to satisfy a “big brother” who is watching me. It would be to please a God who I intimately know.
Galatians 5 speaks of the “fruit of the Spirit” – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness & self-control. A bit later on it says this:
“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25)
God wants us to know Him intimately. He wants us to not just live before Him, but to live our lives WITH Him. And when we are with Him, we know what is on His heart and what things he might desire us to do – like tearing down the high places – besides just keeping His rules.
At the end of my life, I would like to be described with a sentence like King Jotham’s. I would like God to say that I did right in His eyes. I would love to walk steadfastly. But even more than that – I would like Him to say that I walked with Him.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Flint-knapping
“…But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint…” Ezekiel 3:9
“Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.” Isaiah 50:7
Flint. In the past two days I have read two Bible verses about being used by the Lord and about flint. What in the world is flint? And why did I read about it so much?
So, I took the liberty of looking it up.
Flint is a rock used to make arrowheads, knives and other tools. Its strength comes from its hardness, but also from the ability it has to be shaped by skilled workmen. In fact, the term “flint knapping” is used to describe the process of heating up flint so that it is more workable and fractures or splits on more “natural” lines. The controlled use of fire on flint not only improves its “flaking quality” but also can change its color and luster and make it more magnetic.
And I would be remiss not to mention the fact that flint was also used to ignite gunpowder in firearms up until the early 19th century. However, it is not adept at making fires on its own. One needs to hit pyrite (FeS2) with flint in order to make it spark well.
Why am I writing all this down? Because I think that there is a beautiful picture here.
In college, there was a group of us who called ourselves “the Toolbox”. We coined that phrase because we were hoping to all be tools fit to be used by our Master. I think we all knew that in order to make a good tool, sometimes you have to be pretty hard on the original material.
Flint is hard. And that’s a good quality. But it might be hard and the wrong shape for a good arrowhead or knife. A master craftsman would need to shape it for better use – and, it is best shaped when it goes through the fire. After it’s been through the fire, parts of it are chipped away to fashion it into what is desired. Then, it is most effective.
Isn’t that like our lives? God gives us qualities, dreams, ambitions, attitudes or talents that need to go through the fire. We sometimes are stripped away from what we lean on, humbled when our best isn’t good enough – but ultimately the effect of fire is to change us – improve our “flaking quality”, change our “color and luster”, even our “magnetism” – so that we are better tools in the hands of God. After the fire, He can freely chip away at our imperfections. He can make us exactly the people He wants us to be – so that He can then use our gifts and talents most effectively in a world that is in a constant battle.
AND – speaking of battles reminds me of firearms! Which reminds me that a good piece of flint is also excellent at making sparks and setting things on fire. And the hope is that someday, God might use us to help start a fire. How wonderful it would be to live in such a way that our lives produce sparks that help set others aflame for the gospel of Jesus Christ!
And when we give our lives to Him – I do believe He plans on doing just that. We just have to be willing to go through the fire and the chipping and the struggles. Then we will be more useful.
I had to laugh as I read about flint today. I thought of the different “fires” I’ve been through, the dreams that were snuffed out, the humiliations...and realized how many of those things have shaped who I am today. And it made me grateful for each of those – because it made it easier for God to chip away my “flakes”. I wonder what my next fire might be? What else needs to be chipped?
I'm glad my God loves me too much to let me stay where I am. I’m going to trust myself in the hands of my Master Craftsman.
So thankful He knows what’s best!
“Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.” Isaiah 50:7
Flint. In the past two days I have read two Bible verses about being used by the Lord and about flint. What in the world is flint? And why did I read about it so much?
So, I took the liberty of looking it up.
Flint is a rock used to make arrowheads, knives and other tools. Its strength comes from its hardness, but also from the ability it has to be shaped by skilled workmen. In fact, the term “flint knapping” is used to describe the process of heating up flint so that it is more workable and fractures or splits on more “natural” lines. The controlled use of fire on flint not only improves its “flaking quality” but also can change its color and luster and make it more magnetic.
And I would be remiss not to mention the fact that flint was also used to ignite gunpowder in firearms up until the early 19th century. However, it is not adept at making fires on its own. One needs to hit pyrite (FeS2) with flint in order to make it spark well.
Why am I writing all this down? Because I think that there is a beautiful picture here.
In college, there was a group of us who called ourselves “the Toolbox”. We coined that phrase because we were hoping to all be tools fit to be used by our Master. I think we all knew that in order to make a good tool, sometimes you have to be pretty hard on the original material.
Flint is hard. And that’s a good quality. But it might be hard and the wrong shape for a good arrowhead or knife. A master craftsman would need to shape it for better use – and, it is best shaped when it goes through the fire. After it’s been through the fire, parts of it are chipped away to fashion it into what is desired. Then, it is most effective.
Isn’t that like our lives? God gives us qualities, dreams, ambitions, attitudes or talents that need to go through the fire. We sometimes are stripped away from what we lean on, humbled when our best isn’t good enough – but ultimately the effect of fire is to change us – improve our “flaking quality”, change our “color and luster”, even our “magnetism” – so that we are better tools in the hands of God. After the fire, He can freely chip away at our imperfections. He can make us exactly the people He wants us to be – so that He can then use our gifts and talents most effectively in a world that is in a constant battle.
AND – speaking of battles reminds me of firearms! Which reminds me that a good piece of flint is also excellent at making sparks and setting things on fire. And the hope is that someday, God might use us to help start a fire. How wonderful it would be to live in such a way that our lives produce sparks that help set others aflame for the gospel of Jesus Christ!
And when we give our lives to Him – I do believe He plans on doing just that. We just have to be willing to go through the fire and the chipping and the struggles. Then we will be more useful.
I had to laugh as I read about flint today. I thought of the different “fires” I’ve been through, the dreams that were snuffed out, the humiliations...and realized how many of those things have shaped who I am today. And it made me grateful for each of those – because it made it easier for God to chip away my “flakes”. I wonder what my next fire might be? What else needs to be chipped?
I'm glad my God loves me too much to let me stay where I am. I’m going to trust myself in the hands of my Master Craftsman.
So thankful He knows what’s best!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Hudson Taylor's Secret
I recently finished reading a book entitled: Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret and I was incredibly blessed to read the testimony of a man so sold out for the Lord. His trust in God’s provision was amazing. One of his favorite hymns was:
Jesus I am resting, resting
In the joy of what Thou art
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart….
Mr. Taylor’s whole life was characterized by a constant reliance on God – AND an overflow of God’s love and grace and strength. Here are two of my favorite quotes from the book; I thought they might be worth sharing.
1. “No fear that His resources will prove unequal to the emergency! And His resources are mine, for He is mine, and is with me and dwells in me.”
2. “It doesn’t matter, really, how great the pressure is,” he used to say; “it only matters where the pressure lies. See that it never comes between you and the Lord – then, the greater the pressure, the more it presses you to His breast.”
Isn’t that beautiful? We can rest – and be so full of the Lord that we overflow onto others. As I start a new school year of teaching at a new school with new kids and new schedules and responsibilities – I can rest! I know that I am fully equipped – even with the mind of Christ (I Corinithians 2:16) and I can look at each moment as a chance, whether it seems good or bad – to draw closer to my Jesus.
Looking forward to being poured out and drawn in!
Jesus I am resting, resting
In the joy of what Thou art
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart….
Mr. Taylor’s whole life was characterized by a constant reliance on God – AND an overflow of God’s love and grace and strength. Here are two of my favorite quotes from the book; I thought they might be worth sharing.
1. “No fear that His resources will prove unequal to the emergency! And His resources are mine, for He is mine, and is with me and dwells in me.”
2. “It doesn’t matter, really, how great the pressure is,” he used to say; “it only matters where the pressure lies. See that it never comes between you and the Lord – then, the greater the pressure, the more it presses you to His breast.”
Isn’t that beautiful? We can rest – and be so full of the Lord that we overflow onto others. As I start a new school year of teaching at a new school with new kids and new schedules and responsibilities – I can rest! I know that I am fully equipped – even with the mind of Christ (I Corinithians 2:16) and I can look at each moment as a chance, whether it seems good or bad – to draw closer to my Jesus.
Looking forward to being poured out and drawn in!
Monday, August 9, 2010
The word “cultivate” has many definitions – but each listed below (thanks to dictionary.com), I believe has an important bearing on what I desire this blog to be about.
1. To till and prepare land for the growth of crops
2. To plant, tend, harvest, or improve (plants) by labour and skill
3. To break up land or soil with a cultivator or hoe
4. To improve or foster (the mind, body, etc) as by study, education, or labour
5. To give special attention to
6. To give or bring culture to; civilize
Before I ever became a Biology teacher, I absolutely loved watching things grow. Keeping a garden with my father was always a part of the summer that I looked forward to. Well, rather…planting was something to which I looked forward. The weeding in the hot sun was something that I could have passed on. But the joy of watching seemingly dead seeds spring into life is a miracle.
I believe that physical life is a miracle. Even more than that, life in Jesus Christ is a miracle. We are born again (John 3) into a new life – into the family of God. And, we are told that we are complete in Christ. Countless hymns record the mysteries of such a state:
Complete in Thee! No work of mine
May take, dear Lord, the place of Thine;
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,
And I am now complete in Thee. ~ Aaron Wolfe, 1851
And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,
I’ll lay my trophies down
All down at Jesus’ feet. ~ Elvina Hall, 1865
We are complete right now! Yet we also will be fully complete in heaven. How is that possible?
“Because by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” Hebrews 10:14
We are complete – we are perfect in Christ. His sacrifice is enough to cleanse us from our sins and wrongdoing. But He is continually making us holy. He is continually stripping off our sins and our failures, chiseling away our imperfections, setting us apart and making us different than this world and more like the Lord Jesus. Will we ever complete that process before we get to heaven? Heavens, no! But I believe that it is so important to strive to be holy – to cultivate completeness of not just positional perfection in Christ, but also practical perfection.
Hmmm….that was a bit wordy and maybe hard to grasp. The basic description is that I am perfect in the sight of God – completely cleansed from my sins by the blood of Jesus Christ. That’s my position in Jesus. But, practically speaking – down here, I am so very far from perfect. I make mistakes all the time. However, I desire to be more like Jesus every day – and want to cultivate the completeness of being more like Jesus.
So, this blog is a record for me of how the Lord is cultivating completeness in my own heart. He will have to at times:
1. Break up the “soil” of my heart with heartache and trials to prepare for more growth
2. Prune, harvest and tend the places where I am growing – to make fruit more bountiful
3. Help me improve my mind with learning – study, education, labour – for in this, too, is cultivation
4. Mold me to help me understand the culture of His kingdom
I’m so excited to be able to look back and see what the Lord will do. He is faithful, even when I’m not – loving, even when I feel empty. But I have learned that when I remember His faithfulness and the completeness of His work and love, I can’t help but live for Him.
What inspired this whole thought process was a verse from the hymn, “Morning Has Broken”.
“Sweet the rain’s new fall, sunlit from heaven
Like the first dewfall on the first grass
Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden
Sprung in completeness where His feet pass”
Where He is – there is completeness. We might get smooshed sometimes in the process – but it’s all for the purpose of making us more like Him.
And when life throws us curveballs or rainstorms or challenges – let’s not stay down! Let’s spring up – for there will be completeness where His feet pass.
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.” II Peter 3:18
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